OSHA cites construction company in fatal Dutton site collapse

A male construction worker at the One Dutchess Avenue development site was killed after a concrete and dirt wall collapsed Aug. 3. Video by Geoffrey Wilson.
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This file photo from August 2017 shows the scene at the One Dutchess Avenue development site, where a construction worker was killed after a wall collapsed.(Photo: John Barry/Poughkeepsie Journal)Buy Photo

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited a New Jersey-based construction company in the fatal accident at the One Dutchess Avenue development site in Poughkeepsie last August, which left one construction worker dead and another injured.

Onekey faces $281,583 in proposed penalties after OSHA determined the Aug. 3, 2017, accident at the company's O’Neill Group-Dutton construction site was a result of failure to maintain safe working conditions. A portion of a concrete retaining wall holding soil collapsed on two workers.

According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA found that the retaining wall was not designed or approved by a registered engineer. OSHA also cited Onekey for failing to train employees to stay a safe distance from the wall and the soil pile, and failing to provide proper fall protection.

The wall collapse killed an employee of New Generations Masonry, a Connecticut-based subcontractor. The other worker was able to escape the collapse, but was hit by falling material. He was transported to a local hospital for a broken hand and possible broken leg, according to Journal archives.

The company has scheduled an informal conference with OSHA to discuss the citations, James Lally, a spokesman at the Department of Labor, said.

“This incident should have been prevented,” OSHA Albany Area Office Director Robert Garvey said in a release on Wednesday. “Establishing and maintaining effective construction safeguards, and providing adequate employee training are crucial to protecting employees from serious or fatal injuries.”

Representatives from Onekey did not respond to inquiries before the Journal's deadline.

An autopsy determined the employee's death was "crush and blunt force injuries,” according to Dutchess County Chief Medical Examiner's Office in August.

In the violation summary, OSHA notes that Onekey did not protect employees from the hazards associated with a "soil surcharge collapse" for one of the building's soil surcharges, and did not maintain a slope of 45 degrees at the edge of the surcharge, "as per engineer design."